[net-gold] Secrecy News -- 03/10/11

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Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:37:00 -0500 (EST)

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Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:24:44 -0500
From: Steven Aftergood <saftergood@xxxxxxx>
To: Steven Aftergood <saftergood@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Secrecy News -- 03/10/11 (alt list)

SECRECY NEWS

from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2011, Issue No. 23
March 10, 2011

Secrecy News Blog:

http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

**     LEAKS A "SERIOUS PROBLEM" FOR DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE

**     LAW ENFORCEMENT USE OF GPS DEVICES, AND MORE FROM CRS

LEAKS A "SERIOUS PROBLEM" FOR DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE

Unauthorized disclosures of classified information are among "the
major challenges" facing defense intelligence, Acting Under Secretary
of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers told Congress last month.
Mr. Vickers is awaiting Senate confirmation to be the new USD(I), a
post that was last held by James R. Clapper, who is now the Director
of National Intelligence.  The Under Secretary is "dual-hatted" as
Director of Defense Intelligence.

"One of the most serious problems currently confronting the USD(I) is
the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.  The spate of
unauthorized disclosures of very sensitive information places our
forces, our military operations, and our foreign relations at risk.
It threatens to undermine senior leaders' confidence in the
confidentiality of their deliberations, and the confidence our foreign
partners have that classified information they share with us will be
protected," Mr. Vickers wrote in response to advance questions for his
February 15, 2011 confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed
Services Committee.

      http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2011_hr/021511vickers-q.pdf

With respect to WikiLeaks in particular, Mr. Vickers told Senator
McCain at his confirmation hearing that by publishing names of Afghans
who had cooperated with the U.S. military, WikiLeaks had put their
"lives in danger."

"Fortunately," he added, "we are able to attract the intelligence
assets that we require to serve our policymakers and warriors.  But
the damage should not be understated... and the Department has learned
many lessons about how to prevent this from ever happening again."

      http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2011_hr/021511vickers.pdf

Among numerous other intelligence policy topics, Mr. Vickers addressed
the possible breakout of the National Intelligence Program (NIP)
budget from its current concealment in the larger defense budget, a
step that is favored by public interest advocates who believe it would
improve the integrity of the budgeting process.

"The proposal to separate the NIP portion of the Defense budget was...
intended... to provide greater visibility and oversight of NIP
resources, as well as improve NIP financial management practices," he
said.  "ODNI is leading a collaborative study effort to determine the
feasibility of the conceptual proposal, with DoD stakeholders
participating.  The study team is still assessing possible approaches
and implications. No final decisions have been made on removing the
NIP from the DoD budget."

Mr. Vickers was asked "Under what circumstances, if any do you think
intelligence officers and analysts should be able to testify to
Congress on their professional conclusions regarding a substantive
intelligence issue even if those views conflict with administration
positions?"

He responded:  "If Congress requires testimony on a substantive
intelligence issue, it should be provided, whether or not it conflicts
with an administration position."

Another question posed by the Senate Armed Services Committee revealed
that "the Department may have failed to report certain cyber
activities in the Quarterly Report [to Congress] that should have been
included, since they would legitimately fit the accepted definition of
clandestine military activities [that are to be disclosed to
Congress]."  (Previously noted by the Associated Press, EmptyWheel.)

Mr. Vickers said that if confirmed, he would commit to full reporting
on DoD intelligence-related activities, "to include cyber activities."

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) asked Mr. Vickers "What's the strength of
al Qaeda in Afghanistan?... 10,000?  100,000?"

"No, sir," Mr. Vickers replied.  The number of al Qaeda personnel in
Afghanistan "would be under 50 or so, 50 to 75, and that on a
part-time basis."  However, he added, "The Taliban are still aligned
with al Qaeda.... Even though Afghanistan is not principally where al
Qaeda is, it could become a future safe haven if we were to repeat the
errors we made after the Cold War."

LAW ENFORCEMENT USE OF GPS DEVICES, AND MORE FROM CRS

When law enforcement agencies use a Global Positioning System device
to track the motor vehicle of a potential suspect, is that a "search"
that is subject to constitutional protections under the Fourth
Amendment?  Or is it comparable to visual inspection of public
information that enjoys no such protection?

The Supreme Court has not ruled on the subject, and lower courts have
issued a range of opinions in different cases, according to a new
report from the Congressional Research Service that carefully
delineated the issues.

"Depending on how one reads the courts' decisions, one could conclude
that there is a split in the courts regarding whether law enforcement
must first obtain a warrant before using a GPS device.  Conversely,
one could also conclude that the courts' decisions are reconcilable
and that the outcomes of the cases are fact-sensitive."

A copy of the CRS report was obtained by Secrecy News.  See "Law
Enforcement Use of GPS Devices to Monitor Motor Vehicles: Fourth
Amendment Considerations," February 28, 2011:

       http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41663.pdf

Some other new or newly updated CRS products include these:

"Mandatory Vaccinations: Precedent and Current Laws," February 24, 2011:

       http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21414.pdf

"The U.S. Postal Service's Financial Condition: Overview and Issues
for Congress," February 24, 2011:

       http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41024.pdf

"War Powers Resolution: Presidential Compliance," February 3, 2011:

       http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33532.pdf

_______________________________________________

Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.

The Secrecy News Blog is at:
    http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
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Support the FAS Project on Government Secrecy with a donation:
    http://www.fas.org/member/donate_today.html

_______________________

Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web:    www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email:  saftergood@xxxxxxx
voice:  (202) 454-4691
twitter: @saftergood

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[net-gold] Secrecy News -- 03/10/11

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